National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

The Spy From Cairo

The Spy From Cairo aka Zeb is the kind of musician that fits perfectly in with the downtown NYC music scene – Italian by birth, Roma by heritage, and Brooklynite by residence and he has been closely associated with the Turntables on the Hudson scene for close to 12 years. The Spy’s new album, Arabadub is perhaps his most realized vision of deep Middle Eastern and Jamaican sounds. There are no samples used on the album, and Zeb has programmed everything, as well as playing traditional Middle Eastern stringed instruments including the oud, chifteli and the saz himself. Check the opener “Alladin Dub”, with its echoed out skanks, pulsing bassline, and majestic strings as this week's song of the week.